Payroll Specialist

About the role

The Corporate Finance Payroll team processes full-cycle, in-house payroll operations across multiple legal entities. We manage payroll for over 5,000 employees across 45+ state jurisdictions, interacting closely with internal partners in Human Resources, Corporate Legal, IT, and various business lines to ensure compliance with company policies and all federal, state, and local payroll laws.

Responsibilities

• Drive critical transactional execution and manage the complete employee payroll lifecycle within Workday.
• Accurately execute off-cycle payrolls, immediate pay state-mandated terminations, ACH rejections, and garnishment data entries.
• Serve as the first-line support for managers and associates to resolve unmatched, unsubmitted, or unapproved timecards, while validating the earning proof and audit reports each cycle to verify incentive pay, track unusual pay fluctuations, and ensure all associates are paid correctly.
• Run pay deductions per pay period to create payment uploads for 401(k), HSA, FSA, parking, and LTD, reconcile monthly vendor benefit invoices for AP payment files, and logically prioritize the shared "Payroll Admin" inbox while serving as the primary operational backup for the Sr. Payroll Specialist.
• Use problem-solving skills and your deep knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll laws to investigate and resolve complex payroll situations, ensuring tax integrity and Gross-to-Net results.
• Use mathematical and Excel aptitude (including VLOOKUPs, XLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables, and IF statements) to calculate on-demand checks, handle prorated or retroactive adjustments, and confidently reconcile monthly vendor benefit invoices against payroll deductions.
• Navigate and communicate effectively with associates and managers through Workday functions, providing policy direction, and explaining complex pay discrepancies to frustrated employees in simple, calm, and empathetic terms.
• Show extreme attention to detail and a "zero-error" mindset to ensure data entries, system uploads, and timecards are accurate to meet established deadlines.
• Practice strict discretion to maintain complete data privacy while handling highly sensitive associate information.

Requirements

You have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional work experience. You bring 1–3 years of hands-on payroll and timecard processing experience, ideally with a clear understanding of managing high-volume shared inboxes and a deep understanding of payroll practices.

Qualifications

We are looking for someone who is ready to be part of something more. You're more than a means to an end—a way to help us meet the bottom line. UMB isn't comprised of workers, but of people who care about their work, one another, and their community. Expect more than the status quo. At UMB, you can expect more heart. You'll be valued for exactly who you are and encouraged to support causes you care about. Expect more trust. We want you to do the right thing, no matter what. And, expect more opportunities. UMBers are known for having multiple careers here and having their voices heard. UMB and its affiliates are committed to inclusion and diversity and provide employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Benefits

Compensation ranges from $38,910 - $56,990 for US Employees in all other states not listed above. Additional information on benefits can be found in the description of benefits included with this job posting.

UMB offers competitive and varied benefits to eligible associates, such as Paid Time Off; a 401(k) matching program; annual incentive pay; paid holidays; a comprehensive company sponsored benefit plan including medical, dental, vision, and other insurance coverage; health savings, flexible spending, and dependent care accounts; adoption assistance; an employee assistance program; fitness reimbursement; tuition reimbursement; an associate wellbeing program; an associate emergency fund; and various associate banking benefits. Benefit offerings and eligibility requirements vary.